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lapidate

[lap-i-deyt]
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verb (used with object), lap·i·dat·ed, lap·i·dat·ing.
  1. to pelt with stones.
  2. to stone to death.
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Origin of lapidate

1615–25; < Latin lapidātus past participle of lapidāre to stone. See lapidary, -ate1
Related formslap·i·da·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lapidation

Historical Examples

  • "Lapidation" is good; it is much more elegant than "stoning."

    A Tramp Abroad, Complete

    Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

  • By the way they passed a sward of green, on which sundry little boys were engaged upon the lapidation of a lame duck.

    The Caxtons, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • By the way they passed a sward of green, on which sundry little boys were engaged upon the lapidation, or stoning, of a lame duck.

British Dictionary definitions for lapidation

lapidate

verb (tr) literary
  1. to pelt with stones
  2. to kill by stoning
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Derived Formslapidation, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin lapidāre, from lapis stone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lapidation

n.

"stoning to death," 1610s, from Latin lapidationem (nominative lapidatio), noun of action from past participle stem of lapidare "to throw stones at," from the stem of lapis "stone."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper